The Tavistock Centre in north London has the only unit offering gender identity counselling to under-18s.
Photograph: Alamy

Almost 1,400 children and young adults were referred to England’s only gender identity clinic for under-18s in the past year, more than double the amount in 2014-15, new data reveals.

The figures, from London’s Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust, show that in the year ending March 2016, 1,398 people used the service, compared with 697 the year before.

While there has been an increase of 50% in the number of referrals every subsequent year since 2009-10, this recent 100% increase bucks the trend.

The figures also reveal there were 913 “natal” females and 485 “natal” males referred to the clinic, despite the fact that men are diagnosed with gender dysphoria up to five times more often than women.

Consultant clinical psychologist Dr Bernadette Wren said that in the past more boys tended to come forward than girls, because girls found it easier to be “boyish” in what they wore or how they styled their hair, but that society was now more accepting.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “We live in a world where people alter their bodies, surgically or otherwise, and this freedom is available for people as they get older.

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“Maybe we just have to be acknowledging that that is a liberty that people have, that these things are possible, technologically, and people will avail themselves of those things. It’s not really for us to approve or disapprove. What matters is what they make of their lives in the end and whether they lead rewarding lives.

“We’re trying to make sure that nothing happens too precipitately. But in the end, we maybe have to see through this social revolution and see how it transpires.”

There are currently 10 NHS clinics catering to offering gender identity counselling to adults in the UK, but the Tavistock is the only one offering a service for children and adolescents.

Charlie Craggs, 24, a transgender activist who has attended support sessions at the Tavistock , told the Guardian: “I wasn’t surprised at all to see the figures – in fact I’m surprised they’re not higher. In my opinion, the numbers are increasing because awareness is increasing. There’s more visibility and media representation.

“I was one of these children, I was expressing in my own words from as young as four that I was a girl. My parents are incredibly supportive, but sadly trans wasn’t a ‘thing’ back when I was growing up. Had I been growing up now my parents would have taken me to get help from Tavistock straight away. Trans kids have always been around, there just weren’t things like this in place to help them.”